Across the River of Yesterday (20 page)

Why hadn’t she noticed him—really noticed him—before now? The answer hit her hard. Was she really so snobbish that the sight of a man in an Italian suit would turn her on? What was
wrong with her?

“I didn’t realize this room was occupied,” she said. “And I’m sorry I interrupted your phone call. I’ll leave now.” She turned to the door.

“Don’t go,” Val said, his deep voice rumbling through her. “It looks like you needed to get out of there as much as I did.” She turned back toward him—toward the heat. The temperature in the room rose when he graced her with a slight smile. “You all right?”

“Yes. Perfectly all right. I should really get back to the awards ceremony now.” Now that he was near her, she realized just how big he was. There were lines etched on his face, light brackets at the corners of his lips and little crinkles at the edges of his eyes, which gave his handsome face an air of worldliness.

“Hmm.” He was eyeing her speculatively now. “I think you should take another couple of minutes here.”

She paused, looking at him, and raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“Yeah. I do. Why don’t you sit down?”

“I’m fine standing.”

“Would you like a drink? I think there’s some water on the sideboard.”

“No, thank you.”

“Just relax, then.” He was quiet for a moment. “I’ll be honest, the Kirkland Award ceremony isn’t quite what I expected.”

“In that it’s exactly like a lecture?” Cameron said before she could stop herself. Then she winced. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You only said what I thought. Were they giving out the awards yet when you left?”

Cameron shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. And I’m afraid it’ll be some time before they do.”

There was silence for a while before he spoke again.

“You own that high-end shop in Star Harbor, right?”

“Yes. The Front Street Boutique,” she said.

“Are you an artist, too?” he asked. When he spoke, the lines around his mouth deepened. It was one of the sexiest things she’d ever seen. For just a moment, she had an overwhelming desire to run the tips of her fingers—then the tip of her tongue—around those little brackets.

Cameron blinked, realizing he’d asked her a question. “An artist?” She laughed gently. “Far from it, though I do appreciate art. You?”

“Hardly.”

“I guess the only reason you’re here this evening is because Theo’s receiving a Kirkland Award, then.”

He dipped his head in acknowledgment.

“Then why are you in here taking phone calls?”

“That,” he said, “is an excellent question.” She looked up into his eyes—greenish-blue, like the ocean in midsummer. His gaze had an intensity that took her breath away.

“One that you’d prefer not to answer, I take it?” She could barely get the words out, her throat was so tight.

“You’re sharp,” he said, his look appraising. “I always thought that about you.”

“Really?” Cameron said, unable to hide her surprise. “We’ve only met a handful of times. How could you have figured that out?”

“Oh, I can tell. Usually within five minutes of meeting a person,” he said, another one of those half-smiles on his face. He took a step closer. “But I didn’t know you had—” He stopped.

Cameron’s body went on high alert as she grew flushed, feeling heat stream from her cheeks down through her entire body. Whether it was from the fire or from his nearness, she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she’d never felt anything like it before. And it was disconcerting. “Had
what
?”

There was another long pause. “Obligations.”

The man was insightful. Yes, she had obligations. Enough to make her sometimes feel like she was going crazy.

The stale, cold smell of the blackened hearth began to permeate the room. “The fire’s
almost gone,” he said.

Cameron cleared her throat. “I should get back before I’m missed.”

“I’ll join you.”

“That won’t be necessary. I can find my way back by myself.” People might talk if they were seen together—the very last thing she wanted.

“I insist,” he said.

Cameron didn’t see a graceful way out of the situation, so she merely inclined her head in acquiescence, an echo of her mother’s gesture.

“Shall we?” he asked, holding out his left arm.

With only the slightest hesitation, she reached out to wrap her hand into the crook of his elbow. As she touched him, a sizzling jolt of energy coursed through her. She nearly drew back in surprise, but he simply covered her hand with his right one. When she looked up at him, his lips curled and the crinkles at the edges of his eyes deepened, as if he knew exactly the effect he had on her.

Guiding her to the heavy door, Val opened it one-handed in an easy gesture. The same door that she’d struggled to open a few inches. She stole a glance at him as he escorted her down the long corridor. He was looking straight ahead, but he saw her out of the corner of his eye and turned toward her. And smiled, this time full-on.

It was a smile no woman could resist. Or would want to. There was a subtle promise in the depth of his gaze, in the slow, easy way he drew her in. Cameron’s body heat exponentially increased. He was mesmerizing. Dizzying.

Before she could blink, they were at the double doors that led into the ballroom. “Ready to go back in?” Val asked gently.

Cameron nodded, trying to reclaim some semblance of self. “Yes.”

He swung the door open, escorted her inside, and walked her to her seat, neatly depositing her next to her mother. As soon as he let her go, the electricity was gone, but the heat that had been steadily building in her didn’t fade. She watched him as he crossed the wide
ballroom to find his own seat, spare and commanding in his movements.

To Cameron’s relief, the speeches had concluded, and the emcee had already begun to announce the recipients of the artists’ awards. Realizing the evening had gone on long past everyone’s expectations, he kept each award presentation short. Cameron half-listened while the awards were presented, trying to get her mind on something other than her black-haired escort.
Forget about him. Focus on the fact that it’s almost midnight.

She needed to start taking care of herself, so this was the absolute last time she agreed to join her mother at a society function on a work night. Taking a quick glance at her watch, she calculated the amount of time she needed to stay after the award ceremony was concluded. She’d take at least fifteen minutes to mingle, and then another half hour to dance.

Lord, she wasn’t going to make it home before one-thirty in the morning! And she had an eight
A.M.
appointment with Hermione Alcott, one of her pickiest clients. Mentally, she mapped out the path she’d take in the morning from her brownstone to the coffee shop. She’d have a latte with a double shot of espresso. No, a triple.

Just then, the emcee’s voice cut into her thoughts. “… and last, but not least, for his exceptionally vivid descriptions of historical Massachusetts, this year’s Kirkland Award for Writing goes to Theodore Grayson.”

Cameron clapped as Theo rose to accept his award. He was as tall, dark, and handsome as his brother, but without the same intensity. Her good friend Avery stood and kissed Theo before he walked to the front of the room. If Cameron had given any thought at all to the event beforehand—which she hadn’t—she’d have realized that Theo and Avery were going to be here this evening. At the very least, they could have coordinated their seating.

Though she knew she should be polite and concentrate on Theo’s acceptance speech, she couldn’t help her gaze from drifting over to where Val sat. Even from so far away she could see he didn’t belong here. He looked like he’d be happier standing on the docks at sunset, his hair shining in the fading light, his lean body folded against his boat, that sexy half-smile on his face.

She forced her thoughts back to Theo’s speech. Obviously mindful of the time, he’d
raced through his thank-yous and had segued into a discussion of his current work.

“This great honor comes at a fascinating time for me. As many of you know, though I lived in California for a decade, I never called it home. You might say I had Massachusetts on my brain, since every single book I’ve written was set here. Now, I’m following my heart.” He gave Avery a smoldering look. “I’m happy to say that I’ve moved back to Star Harbor permanently, and will continue to focus on local legends. The
Siren Lorelei
, the infamous pirate ship that sank off the coast of Star Harbor during a nor’easter in the fall of 1711, will be the subject of my next three novels,” Theo said. “Honors like the Kirkland Award make it possible for local artists not only to work, but to thrive, knowing that our contributions are valued in the community. Thank you again to my friends, family, Congressman Kirkland, and the Awards Committee who selected my work to be honored.”

There was thunderous applause, and Cameron found herself rising along with the rest of the crowd. She caught a glimpse of Val from across the room, clapping for his brother, pride etched all over his face.

And then, almost as if in a dream, the applause faded, the large curtain dividing the room opened, and the music in the main ballroom finally began. Soft strains of an old Ella Fitzgerald standard filled the air as the lights dimmed further. Within a moment, the object of her fantasy was at her side, looking very large and very real.

Eyes never leaving hers, Val held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Read on for an excerpt from Toni Aleo’s

Taking Shots

Chapter 1

Eleanor “Elli” Fisher didn’t understand why she was so forgetful. She was convinced that if her ass wasn’t attached to her, she would forget it at home too. But really? How in the world did she forget all the bulbs for her light stands?!

Elli stood in the entrance of the Luther Arena, waiting for Harper Allen, her assistant, to bring the bulbs back from her studio on the western side of Nashville. This was one of the most important days of her career and she forgot the bulbs.

God, I am an idiot.

How did she manage this? She ran her hand through her unruly brown curly hair, sighing. As if forgetting the bulbs wasn’t enough, she was also having a really crappy hair day. This was her first year with the Nashville Assassins. She couldn’t blow it. Being chosen to be the photographer for a hockey team was huge, but when it was for the team that just won the Stanley Cup and had the prospect of winning again? Hello, it was HUGE.

When she saw Harper running into the arena with the bulbs in hand, she let out the breath she had been holding. Damn, that was fast.

“For Christ’s sake! It’s a mad house out there!” Harper complained in her thick southern accent. Her hair was in spikes this week. The spikes were also purple, which made it even more interesting. Hadn’t she discussed with Harper how they needed to keep a professional image? Yes, purple was a team color.

But still!

“I know, come on. Let’s go put the bulbs in.” She didn’t have time to have it out with Harper right now; she had to get to the ice. They all but ran towards the entrance to the ice. Once there, she was greeted by the Assassins’ PR rep.

“Ms. Fisher, how do you do? Are you ready?”

Melody Yates was intense. That was the only way Elli could describe her. She was from New Jersey, and had been converted into a Southerner. And that made no damn sense to Elli, but whatever, this was her boss. So she flashed a huge grin and turned on her southern charm.

“Yes, ma’am. Let my assistant put these bulbs in, and we can get started.”

“Good, the boys will be out soon. Then we’ll go downstairs for the other shots we need.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Harper ran ahead of them and started setting everything up. Elli took in a deep breath. She had been photographing weddings almost her whole adult life, and now she was moving to sports. She had always wanted to do sports photography, partly because she had such a love for hockey, but she never could get an opportunity. Now, thanks to a job opening, and being related to the owner of the Assassins, here she was.

This was her chance.

A big one.

Harper handed Elli her camera with a big smile. Harper knew how important this day was, and also how nervous Elli was.

“Go on over there and let me test shoot, Harp.” Harper started towards the goal and turned with a stick in her hand, making a stern face. It brought a smile to Elli’s face. Harper was a dork, but God, Elli loved her. After fixing the aperture on her camera, Elli called Harper over as the guys started skating onto the ice.

“Good golly, Miss Molly! Look at them! Good Lord! They are gorgeous!” Harper whispered as all the guys came out and sat on the bench. Elli took her time looking the guys over. They were gorgeous, alright. But she already knew that, since she never missed a home game. Sometimes she thought it was the uniforms: bright purple and black, with a masked man on the front of the jerseys that brought out their good looks. But nope, even with the helmets off, these men were just plain gorgeous.

Getting back in the zone, she called for the coaches first. Trying to bottle her nerves, she got started. After shooting the coaches, it was on to the team. Each player came out in front of the goal, striking his pose. Elli zoomed in, taking a head shot before taking one with him holding a stick. After that picture, each lined up for an action shot, which consisted of skating towards her while shooting a puck. During all of this, Harper offered up commentary.

“For the love of God, El, that dude is hot!” Elli rolled her eyes, taking the shots she needed.

“Hush, Harp.”

“No, really. Like, please, can I hit on one of them? Just one?”

“No.”

“You’re no fun.”

Elli laughed it off. She was starting to get into her groove, just as the captain and the alternate captains came off the bench.

“Oh, to hell with what you say. Number two is mine, after this!” Elli gave her a pointed look as Jakob Titov, the Assassins’ leading scoring forward, skated in front of the goal. Jakob was extremely good looking, with hard lines to his face, bright green eyes, and dark brown hair. He was a looker, but not Elli’s type.

He reminded her too much of her ex-boyfriend.

“Hush, Harper!” Elli said as she took the shots she needed. What she didn’t need was Jakob making eyes at her assistant, which he did. And, of course, Harper returned them. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much that Harper always flirted with the clients. It didn’t matter how old they were or what they looked like, or even if they were the groom. She always found something in them that she liked. It was probably the fact that they all had a penis.

Elli loved Harper, but Harper was a little promiscuous and didn’t care who knew. Guys had no worth to her unless they were naked and inside her, as she always said. Elli always wondered what made Harper that way. It made no sense. There had never been a guy who had done Harper wrong in the twenty two years they had been friends. Her parents were good people. So Elli really didn’t understand where it came from. And, of course, guys liked Harper. She was wild, beautiful, skinny, and amazing.

Everything Elli wasn’t.

Jakob lined up, giving her his action shot. After she got it, he skated towards her and Harper instead of his teammates.

What the hell was he doing?

“Nice hair, beautiful,” he flirted in his thick Russian accent. Harper just smiled widely, as Elli flushed deep red. Elli didn’t know why she was embarrassed, but she was. She didn’t want attention on Harper right now, not with the importance of this job.

“Nice stick,” Harper said, looking down at where he was holding his stick. Jakob gave her a devilish smile and skated towards the bench.

“You are impossible, Harper Allen,” Elli said, flustered.

After getting it together, Alex Welch came next. Alex was easy to shoot. He had good lines, and bright blue eyes, so the pictures were bound to be fabulous. Next was the captain, Shea Adler.

Elli blushed as she got to the close-up of Shea. She had always thought the defenseman was gorgeous. With his almost black hair that fell in the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen, and a crooked nose that had been broken two years ago during a game with the Red Wings, she had to admit that she had a little bit of a crush on him. When he smiled, her heart melted. Yeah, his teeth were probably false, but damn, he had a pretty mouth.

“Why’s he blinking so much?” Harper asked. Elli was too busy looking at his mouth to notice.

“Harp, shut up,” she whispered, but then she noticed that the captain was blinking a little too much.

“Is he hitting on you?”

“Oh, my God!”

Elli’s whole face flushed deep red as she looked down at the picture viewer of her camera. In all the pictures, the captain’s eyes were shut. Elli looked up, and Shea was rubbing his eyes.

“Mr. Adler,” she said as she started walking towards him. He looked over at her.

“I’m sorry, but I need you to stop blinking. Your eyes are closed in every picture I have taken.”

“I’m sorry.”

Oh God, his voice was butter, thick with a Boston accent. Elli swore she came at the sound of it.

“I got new contacts and they are bugging the hell out of me.”

“Someone get Adler another pair!” somebody yelled as he pinched the little lenses out of his eyes, throwing them down on the ice.

“We can do this without them, right?”

Elli just nodded. Gosh, he was gorgeous! He tried to make eye contact with her, and it was obvious that it was hard for him to see.

“I won’t be able to see your beautiful face for a little bit, but I’ll have a new pair soon. Then I can stare some more.”

Elli stood there blinking.

Was he flirting with her?

Did he just call her beautiful?

She turned without a word and went back to work. When it came time for Shea Adler to skate off, he ran into the goal, then the wall, before making it to the bench. Everyone was in a fit of laughter except for Elli. She was still in shock.

Shea Adler had called her beautiful.

After the shoot downstairs, which consisted of the guys in sexy suits holding their hockey sticks, Harper and Elli started cleaning up and tearing down the equipment. Elli didn’t hire big crews; she didn’t like them. All she needed was Harper and two other assistants, and she was good. The day had been great. All the shots were fantastic. Once she edited them, they would be golden. The guys were amazing and sweet, not really as cocky as the sports reporters make them sound. They were good guys.

Elli was packing up her camera when she saw Jakob Titov coming towards her. He gave her a grin before going over to where Harper was standing. She watched as he flirted with Harper, who was playing hard to get; something she had perfected. Jakob pulled his phone out as she did the same. They were exchanging numbers. He asked her something and Harper just giggled and then leaned forward, giving him a kiss on his cheek.

Jakob put his hand on his heart before stepping backwards, a dazed look on his face, causing Harper to laugh. He shot her a wave as he left with his bag over his shoulder. Harper smiled and looked over at Elli. “He’ll call when he gets in the car,” she said as she walked towards Elli with the rods from the light stands.

“How do you know? He said that?”

“Nope, but I know his type. Needy.”

The sad thing was that Harper was probably right.

Elli looked down at her camera, taking care to put it away. As she zipped the zipper to her purple and black bag, (Yes, team colors) she cursed herself for being shy and stupid with guys. When Shea said she was beautiful, she should have said something clever. That’s what Harper would do. But nope, she just stood there blinking and looking downright stupid.

Elli knew the problem. It was the fact that she had no confidence at all. She didn’t think she was good enough for male attention. She wouldn’t say she was plus-sized, but she was thick. She wasn’t a size two anymore. Nope. Good ole ten now. Even with her thyroid medicine to help with her hypothyroidism, she still couldn’t keep the weight off. It
didn’t matter if she had great fashion sense to cover her dumpy body, guys just didn’t hit on her the way they had when she was 18 and a size two. It was depressing, because Elli was lonely.

Elli would never admit it to anyone, but she wanted that “happily-ever-after”.

She always put on the front that she liked being alone and didn’t need a man, but it was such a lie. Elli wished she could be like her older sister, Victoria, who loved being single, loved sleeping with different men, but Elli just couldn’t do it. Sex was such a private thing and with the way she felt about her body, no one was getting her undressed until she knew she loved him and he loved her.

After packing everything on the carts, they started pushing them down the hall towards the car. After three trips, they had everything packed, and were walking toward their cars when Harper’s phone rang. Elli didn’t even stay back to listen. She kept walking with a wave as Harper cooed into her phone.

Once in her F-150, (hey, trucks aren’t just for boys), she drove off towards the west end of Nashville to get onto the interstate. She’d planned to ask Harper if she could stay the night with her since she was stupid tired and didn’t want to drive for forty five minutes, but it looked like Harper was going to be busy. So Elli decided to go home. She hit the interstate, preparing herself for the drive. It was probably good that she was going home. She had forgotten to call Ally, her neighbor, to let her dog out.

When Elli had purchased the old country home outside of Nashville five years ago, it had seemed like a great idea. The studio had been open for two years. It was thriving and she wanted a home, not some apartment or condo. She bought it without even looking at anything else. It was the house for her. After five years, it wasn’t the old country home she had bought. It was a masterpiece. Everything had been redone: the décor classic and beautiful.

Whenever Elli’s dad came to visit, he would always say that it was like he was standing in sunshine because it was so bright. She smiled just thinking about it. She was so proud of both her studio and home. They showed the world that she was doing something with her life. They proved that she didn’t need her family’s money, that she was successful after losing her stint on Broadway, and that she could live without Justin, her ex.

She pulled into her round driveway, grabbing all of her bags. Even before getting to the door, she heard her pug running down the hall, and then the barking started.

“I know, Adler. I’m home, darling, hold on.” Elli opened the door and her 40 pound pug attacked her. Well, he tried to, at least. She laughed as she threw her keys in the basket by the door. She bent down to her puppy, who was struggling to breathe.

“Oh my goodness, Adler, honey. Breathe, darling.” Elli pet him until he calmed down, kissed the top of his head, and then locked the door as her house phone rang. She didn’t answer it. She knew it was her mother, and Elli was not in the mood to talk to her. The machine picked up and her mother’s voice rang over the machine, telling her to call her. She pushed delete before going to the kitchen for some dinner. She decided on a frozen dinner, since she didn’t feel like cooking. She went to get her laptop while her food cooked in the microwave.

Elli walked through her bright yellow living room. She loved the décor in here. The gleaming walls accented the black wrap-around couches that had matching throw pillows. The couches brought the room together. Her extremely large TV, a gift from her father because she loved watching the away games in HD, hung above her mantel that held pictures of her nieces and nephews. She smiled as she passed them to get her laptop. She loved her nieces and nephews, and couldn’t wait to take them to the park next weekend when they came for their monthly visit.